The present invention relates to novel compounds for use as imaging agents. In particular, the present invention relates to heavy metal clusters which may be complexed with appropriate ligand groups, for use as X-ray contrast media.
The technique known as X-ray contrast imaging generally involves the use of a contrast imaging agent which includes iodine (D. P. Swanson, H. M. Chilton, J. H. Thrall, "Pharmaceuticals In Medical Imaging", 1990, McMillan). The iodine within the imaging agent provides opacification to the X-rays and allows imaging of organs, vessels and tissues. By this method, the contrast of these organs, vessels and tissues to more dense substances such as bone may be enhanced allowing better diagnostic information to be obtained in the X-ray study.
A number of types of studies can be performed with X-ray contrast media. For X-ray contrast media which are water-soluble, these studies include angiography, urography, myelography, and cholesytography. For non-water soluble agents such as barium sulfate, the studies are usually limited to GI tract imaging. As mentioned above, the water-soluble contrast media include iodine, which is excellent at X-ray opacification (absorption of the X-ray). Most currently available agents are derivatives of triiodobenzoic acid. However, in the past, a number of other types of contrast media (most of which include heavy metal chelates) have been proposed or tested (e.g., R. M. Nalbandian, W. T. Rice, W. O. Nickel, Annals of NY Acad. Sc., 1959, 79, 779-792; W. Cacheris, Int'l Patent Publication WO 90/03804; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,310,507, 4,478,816, 4,647,447, 4,176,173). The goal in designing non-iodine-based contrast media is to alleviate the problems such as pseudo-allergic reactions and chemotoxic affects associated with conventional X-ray contrast media (Pharmaceuticals IN Medical Imaging, pp 12-39). The disadvantage to most non-triiodobenzoic acid derivatives, especially those involving heavy metal chelates, is the toxicity of the chelate or the free metal after it is released from the chelate. Another drawback stems from the fact that the weight percent per volume of radiopaque elements in these complexes is not that much greater than in currently existing triiodobenzoic acid derivatives.
Metal clusters have been known for a long time (F. A. Cotton, G. Wilkinson, Advanced Inorganic Chemistry, 4th Edition, Wiley & Sons, 1980, 1080-1112). Cotton and Wilkinson state that "A metal atom cluster may be defined as a group of two or more metal atoms in which there is substantial and direct bonding between the metal atoms." These clusters have found the greatest application either as catalysts or as models for metal surface-catalyzed reactions. Many of the elements that have good radiopacity are metals such as tungsten, rhenium, osmium, bismuth, and some of the lanthanides. Metal clusters of most of these elements are known and, in many instances, cluster-like compounds in which metal-metal bonding is weak or nonexistent (ordinary polynuclear complexes) are also known.